


Yuletide

by Emimar



Series: Tolkien Twitter RP Shorts [11]
Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-17
Updated: 2016-01-21
Packaged: 2018-05-14 11:56:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,796
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5742931
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emimar/pseuds/Emimar
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Another one of the twitter rp shorts.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Since bringing Linny into the world, she had developed a routine of waking up earlier than anyone else and Yuletide morning was to exception. Kili was beside her in bed, snoring loudly and the collies were curled up together in front of the fire which had gone out. She got up out of bed and donned her night gown, a garment in the colours of Durin blue, with silver knotwork embroidered on its hems. She checked on Linny in her cot, to see that she was sound asleep. 

The first thing she encountered when she went out into the hallway, was Kari and she wondered what the raven was doing here, as he was usually on his perch in the study. He cawed to her and landed on her shoulder and affectionately (for a raven, at least,) pecked at her hair. She stroked his feathers and went to the kitchen to see that everything was quiet and cold there, too. She was surprised to find that Beyla wasn't there, getting the stove ready to cook breakfast as she normally was at this time. She looked out the window to a dark morning - Arien had yet to emerge and Tilion was out instead, his light glistening off the frost and ice. Kari hopped off her shoulder and landed on the table and, with a clang, knocked the last of the baking trays on to the floor. 

She cursed in Khuzdul when she realised that all her mince pies were gone and wondered what had eaten them. Startled, Kari jumped off the table and, after regaining his dignity, pecked around the crumbs which what-ever it was hadn't gobbled up. She found a broken chair and a ripped open sack of potatoes which had been partially eaten. She swore louder in Khuzdul and, not wanting to disturb Kili or Beyla, she went off to Loni's home, not caring that she was properly dressed, and got him up to investigate the mystery instead. At least she had the cake from Kara and the cookies from Foxy, but it was still disappointing. She would have to send to the main kitchens for what they were missing, something which annoyed her greatly because she didn't like relying on others for something which she could easily do. She explained to Loni what had happened on the way back. She and the guard encountered Lofar on the way back to the kitchen and she asks him to help her put the kitchen right. Lofar grumbles and she suspects that it is because she is making the request. But no matter, with Loni investigating what creature had been at Lynd's mince pies, and the housecarl helping her, the kitchen was put in order. She berated Lofar when he tried to kick Kari, whom he regarded a pest. She was glad when she was able to dismiss him to do his other duties of lighting candles and fetching coal. By the time the kitchen had been put straight, Tilion had disappeared from the sky and Arien was beginning to cast her splendid light, and in bustled Beyla and her two youngsters. 

She was glad to hand over the kitchen to the housekeeper and she went off to investigate the original mystery of the morning - why was Kari out in the hallway and not in the study on his perch? She decided that the best place to start her investigations was Kili's study and she headed there now. Perhaps the raven had just been locked out - that was the simplest explanation for everything. She paused at the door to his study, wandering if it was locked. There was only one way to find out. She reached out for the handle, and turned it and pushed. It was stiff, there was some damp in the winter which expanded the wood. Slowly, the door yielded, quite to her surprise as it was unlocked, and after a moment or two, she took a candle and using the flame from a nearby torch, lit it, stepped inside the room and began to light the candles around the room, as it was still quite dark. She shivered, when she noticed the fireplace was not lit, and did the job herself. The glowing coals, once burning, chased away the last of the darkness and slowly the heat from the flames began to warm the room. It was then that she noticed the carefully wrapped gifts under the tree and it was difficult for her to control her curiosity. She would wait for Kili to arrive before she would open hers. She slipped out of the room to her library and retrieved the gifts she had stashed secretly away in there, and placed those for Linny and Kili under the tree in Kili's study. She also had some gifts for Beyla and her lads, which she took to the kitchen to present to them. There was even something for Lofar, which she left there, after giving instructions to Beyla that they would be taking breakfast in Kili's study. After that, she went away to dress, in a comfortable but richly made velvet Durin-blue shirt and trousers. She went back to Kili's study, opened the curtains to let Arien's winter solstice light into the room, and waited for Kili to arrive.


	2. Chapter 2

[Kili]

It was the crying from Linny that woke him. He got up out of bed and strolled over to her cot, and gently picked her up. He rocked her in his arms to try and quieten her, and it was then that he noticed that she needed changing. 

"Hush, little one."

He wondered where Lyndheid was, but he decided to see to this job himself and searched for a clean nappy and some clean clothes. Once he had done so, he changed her and because she was still fussy, he sang to her, and carrying her, he went in search of her mother, figuring that she wanted her breakfast. He went to the kitchen first, to see if Lynd was there, but Beyla told her she was in the study. Beyla's lads were busy playing with some carved wooden dwarrows, pigs, ravens, goats, orcs and wargs and were mock-fighting a war with them. The sight caused him to smile, as he saw that they were the toys he and Lynd had bought for them. There was also a newly knitted shawl draped over one of the chairs which he recognized Lyndheid wrapping up one evening. Leaving the dwarrowdam to her work, he went to find Lyndheid in the study. 

[Lyndheid]

She turned from the window as he entered, and walked over to him. "Good morning my love. I've asked Beyla to bring bring our breakfast to the study[[."

[Kili]  
"Speaking of breakfast, I believe that Linny wants hers." He carefully passed the infant to her.

[Lyndheid]

She nods, and sits down with Linny on the sofa nearest to the fireplace. "She was sleeping when I awoke this morning and I didn't have the heart to disturb her, so I went to the kitchen. There has been a problem." She explained about the eaten mince pies. 

[Kili]

Frowning, he excused himself and sprinted to the kitchen, startling Beyla while she was frying some bacon and unlatched the kitchen door and ran out into the garden. He searched high and low for Heidi and found no sign of her. Curious as to the cause of all the ruckus, Beyla lifted the pan off the stove and followed him outside.

"Master Kili, is there a problem?" she called.

He didn't hear her at first, as he checked to ensure that the gate was firmly closed, and it was. He cast his mind back to the late afternoon of the previous day. Had he shut the kitchen door when he passed through? He remembered taking one of Lynd's mince pies. He had no idea, none at all, if he had shut the blasted thing. That meant that Heidi was very much likely rampaging around the halls of the mountain. Her words finally registered, and he said, distractedly, "Aye, you could say that. Excuse me." He tottered around her and ran through the kitchen and down the main hallway, panicking, as the sow could now be anywhere in the mountain.

He ignored the strange looks he garnered from the bewildered looking guards and palace staff as he sprinted past, searching, always looking for the signs of passage that a wild sow might leave. Broken furniture, torn tapestries, smelly deposits of pig dung, antique armour which had been knocked over and had grubby porcine nose prints all over it. The odd smashed vase... If he was a pig, where would he go? The trail of destruction led to the main pantries and a loud shriek and a series of angry grunts told him that he was almost caught up with the wayward sow... He ran into the room to discover a ridiculous sight - a pair of burly looking dwarrows, one brandishing a sweeping brush and the other a mop, taking refuge on a large barrel, being besieged by an irate sow. Half-eaten apples, pies, and cakes were strewn about the place, jars of sweet mince meat, jams, honey and pickled onions were smashed and broken all over the pantry floor. Cheeses and butter sported piggy hoof prints, a sack of flour had been torn open and potatoes and root vegetables were rolling all over the floor. 

"OH MAHAL!" 

Upon seeing her master, Heidi calmed and tottered over to him and snuffled at his hands. 

"Amad's going to kill me when she finds out about this."

Resigned, he scratches Heidi behind the ear, as he wonders what he should do about the situation, when at that moment, Loni and a very angry looking head cook arrived. The head cook had found Heidi snuffling around in the pantry when he had come to start making preparations for the Yule feast and had sent the besieged assistant cooks to remove her from the pantry and take her back to where she belonged. Heidi, however, had not taken this well, which resulted in the head cook looking for help, and had he had come across Loni. Needless to say,the head cook wasn't happy and as Kili and the guard escorted Heidi away, the sow now quite happy that she was in familiar company, the head cook, shaking his head, shoved a sweeping brush into Kili's hand. He did not care that he was addressing one of the princes of the mountain and Kili agreed to clear up the mess his pig had made, wondering, at the same time, how he was going to break it to Lynd that he would not be spending the much anticipated morning with her and their daughter.


End file.
